


El Mañana

by Stalene



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Angst, Black Cloud, Character Death, Collaboration, Death, Don't read if you're overly sensitive?, El Mañana, Pain, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 09:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13050810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stalene/pseuds/Stalene
Summary: Noodle had always been shoved in the middle of every dispute the band mates had - always feeling as if she would be forced to pick sides. But the girl had begun to consider the band as more than just a band, but a family. After one terrible argument, with the idea of disappearing for a while to uncover her past - Noodle agrees to shoot a video with Murdoc, despite the danger she'd be putting herself in.Though there's one major thing Murdoc forgot while planning out the whole endeavor.Noodle is still only Thirteen.





	El Mañana

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So this is a collab piece I did with an amazing person over on the Gorillaz Amino. It was tons of fun and I absolutely love her to death! Enjoy!

Yelling rang through the halls of Kong Studios. It was mostly Murdoc's voice that was yelling at 2D and Russel; Noodle could tell that much. It always pained her to hear her family not get along. Sure, they had their arguments now and again, but this seemed serious. And it seemed to go back and forth.  
"I'm about to say fuck it. You guys are so hard to work with! The movie isn't getting us anywhere, and it's all going to shit, all because of you two!"  
"It's not /our/ fault that you want so much out of us, we still have a band to worry about. A /career/, might I add. We're the ones who dropped our lives basically for this band!"  
"I don't wanna hear shit about dropping lives, since you two obviously didn't have one when I met you!"  
All of this caused Noodle to shrink into herself on her bed. Her tears were beginning to stain her cheeks softly as she let out her emotions. It was something she always did before going down to confront the argument first handedly.  
About two minutes later, she stood, walking to her bathroom to clean up her face. three minutes passed as she continuously pressed a cold, wet washcloth to her eyes and cheeks, cooling them down. It didn't take long until she left the bathroom, taking a deep breath.  
Slowly, she walked down to the main room, where the three boys were. Murdoc was standing, yelling at the two, who were sitting. She peeked into the doorway, eyeing them.  
She could practically feel the anger emanating off the bassist - his fists clenched, pacing in front of the couch. 2D tapped the tips of his fingers together nervously - Noodle easily recognized the nervous tick.   
"Y'know it was YOUR idea to do this stupid movie right? Ain't our fault the guy you hired was a scammer!" Russel's voice raised a tad bit, causing Noodle to bite her lip - the fight would only escalate unless she interjected soon.   
"Don't try throwin' this on me, Russ! I've been workin me arse off to provide fer you! Who pays the bills, I do. Who schedules the shows, I do. Who makes sure you got money to go shoppin' with, I FUCKING DO!" Murdoc hissed.  
"Yeah, I get that. I appreciate it. But that don't mean you can use us as your personal punching bag whenever you want!"  
Noodle could feel her legs shake. Her fear was kicking in. Soon, this would escalate into a fight. Punches being thrown, blood showing. Of course, they would never do this in front of Noodle, but no one knew she was there. Flashbacks began to occur as her 10-year-old self would walk into an argument, seeing them fight, and then proceed to cry because her family was fighting.  
But she was grown up now.  
No more crying. Soon, it will be over.  
"It's my fucking band. I'll treat you guys any damn way I please. Look at Faceache, yeah? He don't mind!"  
"I, uh, I just wanted to say that felt like we could have chosen a different actor. But, we couldn't because Murdoc decided to run him off..." 2D spoke up, causing Murdoc to walk up to him, strangling him.  
Noodle gasped softly and moved her hair out the way to get a better look at what was going on. Her last day before her disappearance and this is what her family does. Granted, they didn't know. Only Murdoc did.  
Russel stood, pushing Murdoc away from the poor boy so he could breath, coughing some in the process, "This is the shit I'm talkin’ 'bout, man! You can't keep doing this to us. You're gonna end up killing one of us!"  
She allowed her fingers to travel through her hair, leaning against the wall. So many thoughts running through her mind - she heard Stuart choke, struggling to steady his breathing and recover from Murdocs assault. Murdoc was still screaming up a storm - the words melting into background noise to her own thoughts.  
How could she just leave them, when they were still fighting like this? She needed to find out who she was, where she came from... But... Maybe it didn't matter? She had a family now, and they needed her...  
"STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT!" Stuart finally broke down, cradling his head in his hands, "I-I Cahnt take dis no more Mudz! Yewr too much fer me!"  
"Oh, I'm too much for you am I? Well if I'm such a fucking issue I'll just leave! I don't need t'carry you no talent bums around anymore anyways! I'll do fine on me own!" Murdoc retorted, heels clicking loudly against the floor as he stomped away.  
No, no, no! This couldn't be happening! She couldn't... Murdoc didn't really mean it... Did he? He was still going to help her right?   
Could she really go?... Now... Now would be the perfect opportunity, though. She may never get a chance like this again.  
But... She may never see her family together again either.  
Noodle emerged from the safety of her hiding spot, earning a surprised look from the two. 2D was sobbing into himself and Russel looked exhausted. He looked away, uncomfortably.   
"You... You didn't see any of that, did you baby girl?" He asked, giving her a soft tone.  
Noodle could only frown softly before sniffling, quickly running in the same direction as Murdoc. Once caught up to him, she grabbed onto his shirt and tugged gently.  
"... M-Murdoc?" Noodles soft voice piped up, the bassist was cursing, talking to himself - having to repeat over and over how the others were worthless. He didn't need them! As if trying to convince himself of it... But then he saw Noodle slip out from Kong. Heard his little Pasta call his name.  
"Hrng... What Noodle?" He growled out lowly, not intending for his tone to come out so harsh... But Noodle had picked up on his quirks and ticks as well...   
She rubbed her eyes, trying to steady her shaken voice, "M-Mudz...Are you okay?"   
She had to stay strong, had to prove to him she was grown up now... But in reality she just wanted to break down. She wanted him to pick her up and tell her everything would be okay. Tell her the band would never split up and he would start trying to get better.  
She wanted him to fix it... Fix himself…  
He grumbled lowly before sighing softly. "Yeah, yeah, pasta, I'm ... Okay." He said and took a deep breath.  
"I heard everything. We.. We aren't really breaking up, right? You didn't mean th-that, right?" She asked, sniffling. She shook her head and slapped her cheeks gently. She can't cry, not now. She didn't want him to think she was weak and still a child for crying.  
But, some part of her couldn't ignore her emotions. "I don't want to leave knowing I don't have anyone to come back to. I-If we break up, where will I go once I've found myself? I can't choose one of you. You're my family and I just--" She whimpered softly, hiding her face.  
"I just want us to st-stay that way."  
Murdoc’s eyes widened, and his frown deepened. Scratching the back of his head and stepping over to the younger girl. He had to sit on his knees in order to be at eye level with her. Noodle tried to avoid eye contact - embarrassed at him seeing her cry.  
"Look... Noodle I-... Hrm... We just all... Need a break from each other, yeah? Just like after the first album. Here's what we're gonna do. We'll go through with El Mañana, get rid of that fucker Jimmy, and you can find yerself or whatever. Once ya have you can find me and we'll snag the other two. I bet they'll be so distracted by the fact ya remember yer past they won't even care 'bout this shitty fight."  
She nods and sniffled, wiping away her tears as she quickly gave him a small hug. "S-Sounds good." She said softly, gripping his shirt. "Just... Give me a few minutes to calm down, hai? Then we can start shooting.."  
"Alright Pasta. I'll get the Geep so we can 'ead t'the Studio. 'Ell, maybe just a few hours away'll make it betta like it 'as 'fore." Murdoc wasn't the best at optimism, but something about seeing Noodle unravel the way she was... It made him want to try harder.  
Noodle nodded slowly, "O-Okay Murdoc..." she agreed. Noodle had packed a small backpack of provisions the night before - and her stomach twisted with nerves at what was to come. She now had to face the reality of what was about to come..  
El Mañana.  
The green male pat her head softly in reassurance, walking to grab the keys to the geep and got in the driver seat, revving it up. Noodle, of course, followed along, getting in the passenger. She held her backpack close and took in a deep breath. "So, what exactly do you want me to do for the video? Just w-walk around on the island? I brought my guitar just in case"  
"No, I don't think yer gonna need it. What I want ya t'do is just... act like yer enjoyin' a nice day on the Island. Now, when the helicopters come ya gotta book it inside the windmill. They out to get me - remember? They ain't shootin' blanks. Jimmy will be hidin' somewhere on there, so look ou' fer him. Make sure he don't get the parachute before you do.... Go' it?"  
"...." Noodle went silent, clutching her backpack so tightly her knuckles turned white, "Y-.. Yes."  
Murdoc definitely noticed this, second guessing if the girl could really handle it, "Noodle... If... This is too much fer you... I can't find another wa-"  
"No! N-No... I can do It Murdoc, I promise!  
She wanted to make him proud.  
Murdoc sighed softly and nodded. "If yer sure you can handle it." He said softly. In all reality, Noodle was terrified. Literally anything could happen to her. She could die. She was giving her life for this band, which was the most honorable thing she could do for them.  
"Enjoy a day on the island. Got it. Make sure Jimmy doesn't get the parachute. Got it. Get off the island safely. Got it." She nods to herself and sighed. "So, this is a one take kind of video, yeah?"  
"Yup." Murdoc responded, dread starting to creep on up the bassist, "No goin' back."   
Every moment felt like an eternity, getting closer and closer to what could potentially be the most disastrous day of their lives.  
But they pulled into the driveway of the studio all too soon, the tied down Island looming in the distance  
Noodle's heart dropped as she climbed out of the geep. "No going back." She said softly and felt frozen in place,"How long should this take?"  
"An hour, maybe hour an a 'alf depending on 'ow long it takes them to get 'ere. Go' a text a while ago tellin' me Jimmy's already on the Island." Murdoc ran his fingers through his hair.  
"Okay..." she took a deep breath, walking side by side with the bassist towards her destiny. They had to climb quite a few stair cases before they got to the dock for the Island - Murdoc hooking Noodle up with a communication device. She took a step towards the Island, but immediately paused when Murdoc called out her name.  
"Yeah, Mudz?" She peered back at him, half hoping he'd call off this whole thing.  
"... Be careful out there, okay pasta? I don't wanna find another guitarist." He mumbled out the closest thing he could get to concern. She understood, smiling sadly.  
"I will, I promise."  
Murdoc nods as Noodle stepped into the grass of the island, admiring the view from it. "When do we start rolling?" She asked into the communication device.   
"Err, right now, I suppose. Let me catch a few shots of ya, okay?"   
"Yeah, go ahead. I'll just do my own thing up here." She smiled nervously, sitting on the ground as the wind began to blow, moving her hair slightly as she looked around.  
Not long after, she picked up a flower from the ground and stood, walking to the edge of the island, watching it float away. She giggled softly, even though nervousness was sinking into her slowly.  
"Alright Pasta, I'mma gonna release you from the dock now." He informed her, a few moments later she felt the ground beneath her shift - and she started moving away from the studio. Panic started to set in, "M-Murdoc, I'm scared..." she whispered a few moments too late.   
"Hey now, don't be. I won't let anything happen to you." He lied smoothly - they both knew he had no control over what could happen.  
She whined softly into the communication device and sighed softly to herself. She decided to take a moment to held, sitting on the edge of the island as it floated.   
"I can do this. For Gorillaz. For family." She told herself, smiling softly.   
She found peace sitting up on the island. But, soon that came to an end as her panic began to rise when she heard the helicopters. She stood up as they began to fire, quickly running into the windmill, shielding herself from the rapid fires.  
Everything was going as Murdoc planned. Of course, he never intended Noodle to get hurt in this video, but her scared face made it seem all too real for their fans. This was exactly what he wanted. Now, the fans could think that Noodle died, or whatever their theories would be, and let her live a portion of her life finding herself without being stalked by the fans of Japan. Exactly what he wanted.   
Her breathing became fast, whimpering softly to herself. She quickly beeped into Murdoc. "Murdoc, I'm scared, I can't do this anymore!!" She yelled into the device, whimpering to herself. "Where's the parachute? I-I need to get off of here, now!!"  
"Stay calm! The parachute should be hangin' up on the wall right inside the island. You can do this Noodle, you're going to be okay!" Murdoc rushed out his words of encouragement, NEEDING her to be okay.  
She took a deep breath, eyes scanning the walls till she found it. Though, she forgot one major detail. Jimmy...  
As she sprinted towards the backpack - a figure simultaneously shot out from the darkness. She felt knuckles connect with her cheek, forcing her head to snap to the side... feeling blood drip from her nose. She saw Jimmy, the man who was out for her and Murdoc. He was trying to steal the parachute, "No!" She cried out, lunging forward and trying to wrestle it from his hands.  
"FUCK OFF!" He shouted, a few stray bullets tearing through the walls of the windmill grazed Noodles leg. She lost balance, "I aint dyin' today!" Jimmy roughly shoved her back - she screamed.  
"Noodle? NOODLE ANSWER ME!" Murdoc screeched into the microphone, but her earpiece had been ripped out. All Murdoc could hear was the bullet hell Noodle had been shoved out into. Jimmy himself was splattered by the preteens blood, his skin going pale when he realized what he did.  
Noodles eyes were wide, the world began to spin. Then it all went dark. Noodle had set into shock as she fainted in the windmill. Jimmy has wasted no time exiting the windmill by parachute, landing on the ground about 100 feet below him. He gasped for air that wasn't cleansed with smoke.   
It took about 5 minutes for Noodle to wake up. Her lungs being infected by smoke. Her windmill was on fire. She was bleeding badly from her leg. The helicopter noises were gone and so was Jimmy. Her island was only a few feet from the ground and she tried her best to stand and run out of the windmill and onto land before it crashed deeper into a rivene. The fire from the crash had risen to where Noodle was, causing her arm to burn badly. She coughed and laid there, looking up at the blurry sky.  
Strangely enough, all she could think about was going home. She imagined Murdoc scooping her up from the rubbish and treating her wounds. He was good at that. Stu would started crying, and Russ would yell at Murdoc. But they'd hide it for her, and by the next day everything would be okay again.  
Yeah… It would all be okay. She smiled.  
Murdoc’s eyes were wide as he watched the island go down, frozen in place. He saw Noodle just laying on the ground, she hadn't escaped.  
She. hadn't. Escaped.  
She coughed more, sitting up as she coughed up blood beside her. Her gash on her side, on her cheek, and on her knee was bleeding pretty badly. She was hurting and in a state of panic as she called out for Murdoc.  
"Mur-Murdoc!.. I-I made it--" she coughed more, whining at the metallic taste in her mouth.  
But no one was in her sight, bullet wounds gushing blood she didn't have the energy to try and stop. When Murdoc arrived at the scene, he had went into a frenzy. Tearing apart rubble, screaming out her name. Until his eyes landed on a person, with a parachute. That wasn't Noodle. It was Jimmy. Jimmy was only a few feet away from Murdoc, peeling his parachute off his body as he coughed. Murdoc immediately ran over to him.   
"You're not supposed to have the fucking parachute!! What did you do to Noodle?! Where is she?!"  
"Shit- uh- I don't know man!" Jimmy lied immediately, trying to shake off the parachute and run before Murdoc caught him - but he was too late.  
"SHES A FUCKING KID! WHERE IS SHE, The FUCK did you do her???"  
"You're the one who put her on the fucking island!!" He yelled at him, still trying to get away. "Last time I saw her, she was in the windmill, passed out!! Get off me!"   
Murdocs face twisted with a mixture of guilt and fear. Immediately allowing rage take over, "FUCK that! Yer not goin no where 'till I find her!"  
"She ain't MY problem!" Jimmy hissed, the two men still wrestling each other.  
Murdoc eventually ended up throwing punches, causing Jimmy's nose to break and he passed out. Noodle, due to blood loss, had passed out. Her hand was on her gash, feeling her blood pulse out onto her.  
Everything began to feel numb to the young guitarist. But the sky looked... pretty. And scary. Staring up at it as the world around her grew dark. She couldn't really feel the pain anymore. Though she did hear a familiar voice shouting out her name, "M-Murd... Oc..." she tried to respond, her voice weak, "M-Murdoc!" She gasped for air and coughed, turning her head so the blood could land on the ground.  
Murdoc raced to her and gasped. His stomach fell to his feet as he kneeled beside her, examining her body. "I'm here, Noodle, I'm right here--"  
"M-Murdoc.... I did good right?" She couldn't focus, couldn't think rationally. Hissing when she felt the bassists arms gently wrap around her, pulling her close.  
"You did brilliantly Noodle - shit, l-let me see how bad yer hurt alrigh'?"  
Noodle nodded, Murdoc slowly moving her arm. She had already lost way too much blood - Murdoc’s throat tightened.  
"Wh-What happened?? ... Is... Is that my blood?" She asked, looking down at her hands and then her body. Her shirt was almost soaking in blood and her knee looked awful. "M-Murdoc, why am I bleeding?"  
"Shhhshhh, it's goin't be alrigh' lil'Pasta. I promise..." He lied softly, yanking off his shirt and wadding it up so that he could press it to the wound, doing his best to stop the bleeding. What had he done?  
She gasped and whined softly, coughing. "Where's the island?" She asked, looking around. "I'm.. I'm so tired, Murdoc, I wanna go h-home."  
"We can go home soon, I promise... Th-The Islands gone love. Just. Stay awake fer me okay?"  
"B-But Murdoc... M'so sleepy..." The light started to drain from her eyes, she was blinking more to stay conscious - she felt something wet fall on her face. "Why are you crying?"  
"Just, please, Pasta, stay awake?" He said, moving her hair away from her eyes as he picked her up.   
He sniffled and began to run with her in his arms. "Place your hands on my shirt and press down, okay?"  
"O-Okay..." Noodle weakly tried to do what she was instructed, her head leaning onto Murdoc. "... Mudz?"  
"What is it, Noodle?" He swallowed, trying to focus on keeping his legs moving.  
"The band won't b-break up, right? W-were gonna be together forever right?" She sniffled softly.  
"O-of course Noodle, of course we will. Me, you, Russ, and Dentz."  
"Th-thats... good..." her eyes slowly shut, her breathing slowly coming to a stop. Murdoc lost the will to keep running, he knew it was too late.  
Murdoc continued to cry until he got to the keep, laying her in the back seat as he sat in the drivers, breaking down in tears. Noodle was gone. It was his fault she was gone.   
He slowly picked up his phone and called 2D and Russel, telling them to meet him at the house. Of course, he didn't have the heart to tell them on the phone, but they could tell it was something serious by his voice.  
The green man drove the body back to Kong, mind running a mile a minute. He drove uncharacteristically carefully, as if he didn't want to disturb her. If he tried really hard he could convince himself she was just sleeping.   
This was all his fault, he should have known she wasn't ready. She was just a little girl how could he...  
His mind flashed back to what Russ had said earlier, "One day your gonna end up killin’ one of us."   
He had been right - Fuck, why did Russ always have to be right??  
When he got there, he scooped the girl up and carried her body inside, getting a blanket to wrap her up in. Laying her on the couch.  
Russ and 2D came back to Murdoc sitting on the floor. Mostly unresponsive, his thoughts consuming his existence.  
Russel eyes Murdoc before looking at Noodle.  
Blood.  
2D began to panic. "What...What happened to her?!" He yelled, slowly backing away.  
Russel could feel the tears brim his eyes. Thoughts of Del kept recurring. "Baby Girl..." He whispered, walking over to her, unraveling her in the blanket.   
She wasn't breathing.   
He sniffled and shook his head. "She... She doesn't need to leave like this. We need to cl-clean her up. Make sure she sleeps in peace, ya kn-know?" His voice was breaking as he looked at Murdoc.  
Murdoc didn't respond, his face was blocked by his knees. Hands covered in her blood - and it was now in his hair. If he pulled any harder he would rip it out.  
"WHot did you dew!???" Stuart screamed at Murdoc, tears flowing from the singers black eyes.   
Start let Russel lead him away, sobbing uncontrollably. Russel himself scooped up Noodles body. She looked so peaceful... he had to stay strong for Dentz..  
Murdoc was left alone, in shock no doubt. Guilt tearing him to shreds.  
Russel went to the bathroom and laid Noodle on a towel, stripping her of her clothes, but covering the spaces of her privacy. He grabbed a washcloth and began to slowly wash the blood away from her body, until she was clean. His sobs were soft, trying to also convince himself she was just sleeping.   
He didn't want to disturb her.   
2D had picked out her clothes from Dare that they would lay her down in. It was one of her favorite outfits and since she wrote the song, it would be what she would've wanted.  
The two didn't know what happened, but they did know it was more than likely the Satanists fault. But while Stuart allowed all the hate to build up - Russ took a step back. He knew how close those two were. He knew Murdoc would never... Not intentionally.   
He also knew Murdoc must be feeling... Horrible.  
"2D, can you dress her? Imma talk to Murdoc." He said and pat the blue haired male's back, sniffling."Y-Yeh... I-I can dew it..." he sniffled sniffled softly. All the could think about was when she was little. Helping her get ready for interviews.... a new pang of sorrow overtook the singer..   
He nods and went downstairs, standing in front of Murdoc. "C'mon. Let's talk." He said, crossing his arms.  
Murdoc slowly lifted his head, cheeks shiny with tears, eyes red - showing a sort of vulnerability that took Russel aback. It was strange to see the bassist show any sort of emotion. But he didn't argue, just slowly picked himself up off the floor  
Russel led him to the couch, sitting him down, then sat on his recliner. "... What the fuck happened? Seriously, Murdoc, she was a kid. What the fuck were you thinking?"  
"I-It wasn't supposed t'go down like tha'Russ! I... She was so... She wanted t'do it an.." he had to stop a few moments, shakily going for a cigarette, "She's such a strong girl... I-I thought she could..." Murdoc refused to mention her in the past tense.  
"Its like I told you this morning. Too bad it was her and not one of us. She had a lot going for her, Murdoc, and now look at her. Her arm all burned up, cuts, bruises. You hurt my baby girl. /Our/ Baby girl. You thought 'D would be pissed with the whole Paula thing, but now look at 'em. He just lost someone he considered family. We lost another fucking guitarist."  
"You think I don't FUCKING KNOW THAT!" Murdoc snapped, "I fucking lost her too, Y'know!" He added quickly.  
"She wasn't ready for all of that!! You placed her in a situation where the worse could happen, knowing full and well that she could get hurt badly!" Russel yelled back. "All for some video?! Really--"  
He took in a deep breath. "You know what? No. No, we aren't going to fight. She wouldn't want this."   
Murdoc broke down, beating his own head, softly repeating, "I know I know I know I know..." in a heartbroken cry, "... I-I told her... th-that we wouldn't split..." Russ sighed and held Murdoc's arms away from him.   
"Listen. Just... Breathe. We aren't going to break up, for her sake. But we also aren't getting a new guitarist. We will deal with what we've got."

"And what? Replace her with some robotic ass synth noise!? Tha's really honorin' her yeah?" He struggled, trying to get out of Russels grasp.  
Russel’s large hands stayed firmly wrapped around the bassists skinny wrists, "And replacing her is any better!?"  
Murdoc growled and sighed. "I'll build a cyborg version of her in her honor and it will play the same way she does. We /can't/ let /anyone/ know she's dead."  
"A... Cyborg-... I... can you even pull that off??" Disbelief caused Russel’s eyes to widen.  
"Course I can!!" He said and snatched his hand away, crossing his arms.  
"I-It's...." Russel let out a sigh, unable to believe he was agreeing to this. "It's better than the alternative."  
They agreed to replace Noodle with a Cyborg, though knew better than to tell Stu about it until later.  
Murdoc didn't show up to Noodles funeral, instead taking his emotions out on 2D during the course of the next album - hardly contained by Russel.  
Later on down the line when Murdoc finally built the Cyborg, Russel ended up leaving. He couldn't stand the metallic being impersonating Noodle. It was sickening. Though, he promised to still provide the drumming for the band when needed and was still in the band, he just couldn't live in the same household with knowing that Cyborg wasn't his Noodle.


End file.
